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A social-psychological examination of academic precarity as an organizational practice and subjective experience

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  • Albayrak-Aydemir, Nihan
  • Gleibs, Ilka Helene

Abstract

Research and teaching conditions have, particularly for those who are junior or from disadvantaged backgrounds, deteriorated considerably over the years in the higher education sector. Unequal opportunities in access and advancement in careers have led to increasing levels of precarity in the higher education sector. Although the concept of precarity has been grasped in many other disciplines, the social-psychological understanding of this concept remains unexplored. In this paper, we aim to develop a social-psychological understanding of precarity to examine how identity dynamics and intergroup relations, as well as associated organizational controls, reinforce inequality regimes and power structures that create precarious conditions in academia. In doing so, we use social identity theory and system justification theory under an inequality regime framework. We argue that even though change towards equality and equity in academia should be possible, it is difficult to achieve this because of entrenched identity interests by power holders and the perceived legitimacy of the existing system. Therefore, academic precarity should be recognized both as a subjective experience and as an organizational practice to make inequalities more visible and decrease the perceptions of legitimacy—and to eventually achieve a fundamental positive transformation in academia.

Suggested Citation

  • Albayrak-Aydemir, Nihan & Gleibs, Ilka Helene, 2023. "A social-psychological examination of academic precarity as an organizational practice and subjective experience," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 117269, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
  • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:117269
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/117269/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Stephan Puehringer, 2023. "Wie viel Wettbewerb wollen wir (uns leisten)? Zur Verwettbewerblichung der Universitaeten in Oesterreich und darueber hinaus," ICAE Working Papers 149, Johannes Kepler University, Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy.
    2. Xiatinghan Xu, 2023. "Options in the (Semi-)Periphery: A Review of Multilingual Scholars’ Choices of Topics, Methodologies, and Theories in Research and Publishing," Publications, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-21, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    academia; inequality; precarity; research; social identity; system justification;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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